BYD outbids Tesla to supply EVs for Indonesia's largest taxi operator
BYD is the world’s second-largest EV producer backed by Warren Buffet. The company outbid Tesla to supply EVs to PT Blue Bird - Indonesia's largest taxi operator.
PremiumChina's BYD has reportedly win contract for electric-vehicle fleet supply to Indonesia's largest taxi operator - PT Blue Bird. The company, as per Bloomberg report outbid Elon Musk's Tesla. It will supply 80% of EV of Blue Bird's total vehicle fleet.
Most of the 500 EVs, the report says, will be delivered to PT Blue Bird this year by BYD, especially the E6 and T3 models, as the vehicles are a better fit for the Indonesian market, said President Director Sigit Priawan Djokosoetono in interview.
“If the price is too expensive, it would be unreasonable for us to then charge it to customers, so we need to consider this," he said. “We use a lot of imported BYD models as the price is supportive for us to operate in Indonesia.
BYD is the world’s second-largest EV producer backed by Warren Buffet. The company is gaining ground in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. It recently signed a deal to explore potential investments in Indonesia, while also considering building EV plants in neighboring Philippines or Vietnam.
Meanwhile, Tesla has announced price cuts to stoke demand in Asia, even after earlier markdowns took a toll on profitability. Blue Bird is still reviewing its orders for Tesla based on the return on investment.
Other points from the Blue Bird interview as reported by Bloomberg are:
The company will buy 50 Hyundai EV units this year, while considering BMW EV models to meet rental demand
Combustion engines will still make up bulk of Blue Bird’s fleet, with plans to reach around 23,000 cars overall by year-end
Blue Bird will also triple its fleet of cars that run on compressed natural gas to as many as 6,000 next year, as EVs and CNG vehicles lower its operational cost
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
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